Krystal's POV
"My healing power came back!"
"It came back!"
My lips trembled, my eyes growing hot with tears of joy as I watched the green flame dancing on the tip of my fingers.
It was like a dream.
But I knew it was real.
It had never felt this real.
I could feel it in my whole body. The warm sensation traveling through me and into my palm.
My healing power had indeed come back.
"Ahhhh." My heart trembled with happiness—so much that I couldn't say another word. I could only watch it grow.
[Congratulations], the cold voice of my wolf, Echo, echoed in my mind.
Letting go of my initial dislike toward her, I choked out, "Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for bringing my healing power back."
[You're welcome. Use it well.]
"I will!" I said, both to her and to myself.
And the first thing I was going to do with it... was very clear.
With a thought, the green flame disappeared from my fingers.
I looked at my empty fingertips. It felt surreal.
I summoned it again. I felt it. I saw it.
Finally, my heart was at peace, and I scrambled to my feet.
"Time to reclaim my position," I said with a smile.
Life had been tough for me since I turned eighteen, and simultaneously turned out to be an Omega.
Omegas made up the lowest tier of our population. They were the slaves, the breeders. The lowest of the low.
And I, an Alpha's daughter, had somehow turned out to be one.
My father's disappointed face was still vivid in my mind.
The expression of joy he wore when my sister was revealed to be an Alpha had vanished like it had never existed. And when he looked at me with a disgust I'd never seen before, enough to make my skin crawl, he simply turned and walked away.
My pack members had grown distant. Even the maids now looked down on me.
I secretly caught them saying behind my back, or rather, right inside my room. "We're all Omegas, why do we have to serve someone with a wolf like ours?"
It had only been a week since I shifted, but the way my status had dropped made it feel like a year. Everyone turned so cold suddenly. So cold it made me scared.
But now, there would be a change. All the insults, the cold stares, my friends cutting me off, all of it would come to an end now. Because I had regained my healing power. A rare gift possessed only by the chosen. A power that directly placed its wielder in a position that could rival even an Alpha's.
Before I knew it, I was standing before my father's study.
I raised my hand to knock, but froze when I heard another voice from inside.
He had a guest?
"She looks cute. Is she a virgin? Can she bear me strong children?" a gruff voice asked.
I stilled, my breath softening as I subconsciously leaned in, trying to hear more clearly. Glancing around and seeing no one, I pressed my ear to the door.
I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but a part of me was genuinely curious. What were they talking about? Who were they talking about?
"That's a guarantee, Alpha Russell. I made sure she would never be touched by a man until I gave permission, so you're getting a virgin. Not only that, the breeder who birthed her had nine, all from different fathers. And since she inherited her mother's genes, I'm sure she also inherited her breeding ability. So, the number of cubs you want from her shouldn't be a problem."
"Hahaha, you know me well." Alpha Russell's laugh made my stomach drop. There was something so sinister in his voice, it made my brows furrow.
Who were they talking about like this?
As if she were a piece of livestock?
Was it one of the Omegas in our pack?
I'd always known my father disliked Omegas. Their presence made his brows crease. That was why he constantly replaced our servants. And the Omega who birthed me, someone I never got to know—he only ever saw during her heat. That was all.
During the pregnancy, he never laid eyes on her again. And after she gave birth to twins, me and my sister, he gifted her to another Alpha.
I twisted the hem of my shirt. Me turning out to be an Omega was shocking. But I was one of the rare 1% who didn't inherit the dominant Alpha gene. Instead, I got the recessive Omega gene from the woman who bore me.
"However, I only keep an Omega around as a breeder for one cycle. So I'll return her to you after she gives birth to my cubs. You can then give her to other Alphas."
That light, casual voice made my fists clench.
They weren't even treating this Omega like a person.
Their words were too cruel.
What had she done to deserve this fate?
They had reduced her to nothing but a vessel with no will, no choice.
I needed to stay and find out who they were talking about.
Maybe I could help her.
No one deserved such a fate.
It never even occurred to me…
...that the deadly fate could be mine.